Muslim designers to create Islamic fashion hubs

Muslim designers are not only keen on showcasing the latest trends and designs in Islamic-inspired apparels, but they also want to help establish Dubai, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta and Islamic fashion capitals.

“I think it’s time especially for Muslim women who take pride in the way she dress to dictate the direction of Islamic fashion,” Raja Rezza Shah, the founder of the Islamic Fashion Festival.

“We don’t have to take the signal from the West anymore.”
Designers and fashion labels gathered in Dubai on March 30 at the IFF’s fourth edition opening. Past editions of the fashion festival were held in the Malaysian and Indonesian capitals Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta in 2006 and 2007 respectively.

Muslim designers hope to turn the three cities to capitals of the industry that reconciles the Muslim faith with the dictates of fashion, just as London, Paris and New York are to Western labels.

“The demand has never been more present than now,” Rezza says on the IFF official website. “A gap exists at the moment as Islamic fashion capitals and trend setters don’t have a commonplace to serve this demand to a greater market. The Festival aims to bridge this gap.”
The annual festival brings the latest trends in Islamic fashion to an international audience.